Essential Pantanal
The place to spot the highest wildlife concentration!
If you want to see the largest wetland in the Neo tropics, the place to go is South America's Pantanal.
Located in the heart of South America, near the borders of Brazil, Bolivia, and Paraguay, the Pantanal eco region contains rivers, lakes, oxbows, ponds, grasslands, and forests - all of which experience regular yearly flooding.
Living within this watery habitat is an incredible diversity of creatures, from jaguars to giant otters to anacondas to waterfowl.
Covering over 55,000 square miles and located roughly in the center of South America, most of the Pantanal lies in the floodplain of the Rio Paraguay and its tributaries.
The Brazilian Pantanal is about half the size of France or about the size of the state of Georgia in the USA.
On Brazilian border of Bolivia, the lowland plains are characterized by pronounced wet and dry seasons.
Habitats range from semi-deciduous and evergreen forests to palm woodlands and true "pantanal" (in Brazilian Portuguese the word "pantanal" means mud).
An enormous number of lakes and rivers dot and cross the region, constantly cleansing and renewing the wetlands.
The terrain here is flat, with gently sloping and meandering rivers that flood during the annual wet season, submerging over 80 percent of the area. The lowest areas are permanent and semi-permanent lakes and ponds, some of them covered with the most diverse floating aquatic plant community in the world.
Seasonally flooded grasslands surround these areas. The highest elevations contain woodland savannas with scattered shrubs and savanna forest with almost complete tree cover. These upper-elevation areas face few floods but can be exposed to fires.
This eco region is home to more than 400 plant, 500 butterfly, 400 fish, 30 frog, 80 reptile, 650 bird, and 75 mammal species.
The Pantanal is considered the easiest place to see a variety of tropical animals on the South American continent.
Open areas facilitate the spotting of animals such as the rare Marsh Deer, Giant Anteater, Capybara, Black & Gold Howler, Yellow Anaconda, Ocelot, Margay and Jaguar.
The capybara, which can weigh more than 154 pounds (70 kg), is the world's largest rodent. Its name means "master of the grasses" in the language of the Paraguayan Guarani Indians.
We will look for Giant River Otters by their nests in the riverbanks; we might see jaguars hunting capybaras and other medium-sized mammals, howler monkeys waking us up early in the morning calling from the treetops, and caimans aggregating by the rivers.
While this impressive cat occurs over a wide range, the Pantanal is the only place where one has a reasonable chance of seeing a Jaguar.
The mammals are impressive, but it is the amazing abundance of birds that gives the Pantanal its fame.
It is a destination of three major South American migratory routes.
At least 86 bird species, including some from the Arctic and Patagonia, migrate to the area during some parts of the year.
Bright blue hyacinth macaws perch in the scattered trees. The shrinking of vast flooded areas in the beginning of the dry season, when we'll be there, concentrates fish for waders. Enormous aggregations of Roseate Spoonbills and Wood, Jabiru’ and Maguari Storks, Great and Snowy Egret breed and reproduce in the wetland regions. Numerous herons, five species of ibis are easy to spot during our yours as well.
This eco region is also home to the Blue and Gold Macaw, which roosts in the hollows of large trees.
Five species of kingfishers, Snail Kite, Black-collared and Roadside Hawks and several other raptor species, many parrots, parakeets and macaws and an array of other interesting birds make this a favorite destination for bird watchers the world over.
The ease with which the birds can be seen is equally a bonus for the experienced birder and first time nature tour participant.
Please do not hesitate to contact us for our tour information!